Electric toaster

ABSTRACT

An electric toaster with a housing (1) includes a toasting chamber and a slot (2) provided in the top surface thereof for inserting slices of bread, at least one heating element (3), and at least one bread holder (4) movable up and down on a guide device (6) by a lowering and raising mechanism (8) between the housing (1) and the toasting chamber. The guide device (6) comprises a single vertical slide rail (9) with a slide (10) movably mounted thereon, and the holder (4) is attached only to the slide (10) so that it is cantilevered to the post (9).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns an electric toaster whose casing has atoasting enclosure of parallelepipedal shape overall having on a topface a slot for the insertion of slices of bread, and enclosing at leastone heating element, at least one bread-carrier carriage mounted so asto move vertically on a guide device by means of a lowering and raisingmechanism arranged between the casing and the toasting enclosure anddesigned on the one hand to lower the said carriage to a low positioncalled the toasting position situated at the bottom of the saidenclosure and on the other hand to raise the said carriage, after apreviously fixed toasting period has elapsed, to a high position calledthe extraction position for the slices of bread situated in the top partof the casing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the toasters of this type known in the prior art, the guide devicesused and associated with lowering and raising mechanisms are either ofcomplex design, having a structure using parallelism and guaranteeingproper linear guidance, or of mediocre design generally giving rise to ajamming of the bread-carrier carriage inside the enclosure. Furthermore,in the case of the complex design, the result is that there isconsiderable congestion in the toasting enclosure and the manufacturingtime and cost are high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks by producing aguide device for the bread-carrier carriage whose design, though simple,makes it possible, on the one hand, to minimize the congestion in thetoasting enclosure and reduce the time and cost of manufacture of thetoaster and, on the other hand, to ensure perfect linear guidance.

According to the invention, the guide device has a single sliding columnon which a slider is movably mounted, and the said bread-carriercarriage is attached only to the slider in such a way that it is mountedso as to project on the said column.

By means of the guide device according to the invention, the number ofcomponents and therefore the congestion inside the toasting enclosureare appreciably reduced, along with the time and cost of manufacture ofthe toaster. Furthermore, by virtue of the use of a single slider,friction in the guide device, and therefore noises generated by thevarious components, are minimized.

According to another particularly advantageous characteristic of theinvention, the lowering and raising mechanism of the bread-carriercarriage includes an electric motor unit whose output shaft is equippedwith a crank which, through its free end, engages with a runner formedin the slider so as to communicate to it a vertical movement along thesaid column, thereby bringing the bread-carrier carriage either from thehigh position to the low position for the purpose of toasting slices ofbread, or from the low position to the high position after the slices ofbread have been toasted.

Thus, by virtue of the single column/slider assembly, friction betweenthe components having been minimized, it is possible to use a smalllow-power electric motor unit. Preferably, the said motor unit has asynchronous motor with a rotor with free starting in both directions ofrotation.

By virtue of this motor, audible and electrical noise are minimized andthe cost of manufacture is substantially reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will, moreover,emerge from the description that follows, taken by way of non-limitativeexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts diagrammatically an overall perspective view of anelectric toaster according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial perspective view of a guide device for abread-carrier carriage according to the invention mounted in thetoaster;

FIG. 3 is a lateral perspective view in the direction of the arrow X inFIG. 2 illustrating a lowering and raising mechanism according to theinvention associated with the guide device;

FIG. 4 is a view, partially in vertical section, of the guide device ofthe bread-carrier carriage along the line IV--IV in FIG. 3 and, inelevation, of the lowering and raising mechanism.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates diagrammatically an electric toaster whose casing 1has a toasting enclosure of parallelepipedal shape overall, having on atop face a slot 2 for the insertion of slices of bread. As depicted inFIG. 2, the casing encloses two heating elements 3, a bread-carriercarriage 4 mounted so as to move vertically on a guide device 6 by meansof a lowering and raising mechanism 8 arranged between the casing 1 andthe toasting enclosure and designed, on the one hand, to lower thecarriage 4 to a low position called the toasting position situated atthe bottom of the enclosure and, on the other hand, to raise thecarriage 4, after a previously fixed toasting period has elapsed, to ahigh position called the extraction position for the slices of breadsituated in the top part of the casing 1.

The toaster in FIG. 2 has, in a manner known per se, two heatingelements 3 such as quartz or halogen tubes situated respectively on eachside of the carriage 4 and controlled by a timing device, not shown,which enables the toasting period to be fixed.

According to a first characteristic of the invention, the guide device 6has a single sliding column 9 on which a slider 10 is movably mounted,and the bread-carrier carriage 4 is attached only to the slider 10 insuch a way that it is mounted so as to project on the column 9. Asdepicted, the carriage 4 includes a strip 4', disposed in a verticalplane, whose top edge bears retaining fingers 5 for the slices of bread;one 15 of the ends of the strip being connected to the slider 10.

According to an embodiment described preferentially, the slider 10 hasat least two sliding devices 16, 18 having a low coefficient of frictionwith the column 9 and disposed substantially in the same vertical planeon each side of the column 9. The sliding devices 16; 18 are formed byrollers.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the enclosure has two lateral cheeks 21 and22, each having a groove 24, visible only on the cheek 22 and designedto allow the strip of the carriage 4 to pass.

As depicted in the drawings, the slider 10 has an oblong cage 28 havinga vertical passage 30 in which the column 9 is mounted, and the rollers16, 18 are disposed in opposition at both ends of the cage 28. As can beseen clearly in FIG. 4, the active parts of the rollers projectrespectively in the passage 30 so as to obtain contact at one point withthe column 9. The slider 10 also has a lateral housing 32 in which thereis fixed an angle bracket 34 secured to the end 15 of the strip on thecarriage. As will be understood, the slider can be driven in differentways. In a first example embodiment, not shown, the slider 10 can bedriven directly by a lever M movably mounted vertically in a knownmanner on the casing. By virtue of this guide device, a gentle slidingwithout excessive friction is obtained which ensures a high level ofconvenience.

In a second example embodiment and according to a second importantcharacteristic of the invention, the lowering and raising mechanism ofthe carriage 4 equipping the toaster has an electric motor unit 36 whichis mounted on a cheek 20 and whose output shaft 38 is equipped with acrank 40 which, through its free end 42, engages with a runner 44 formedin the slider 10 so as to communicate to it a vertical movement alongthe column 9, thereby bringing the carriage 4 either from the highposition to the low position for the purpose of toasting slices ofbread, or from the low position to the high position after the slices ofbread have been toasted. The cheek 20 is U-shaped overall (FIG. 2) andholds the column 9 vertically between its arms.

As can be seen better in FIGS. 3 and 4, the runner 44 is formed, in atransverse projection on the slider 10, by an oblong recess runningtransversely to the column 9 and in which a pin 50 borne by the end 42of the crank 40 comes to slider. The motor unit 36 advantageouslyincludes a synchronous motor equipped with a reduction gear and having arotor with free starting in both directions of rotation. By virtue ofthe low friction of the slider 10 on the column 9, it is possible to usea low-power synchronous motor, for example of 2.5 Watts, which istherefore very small.

Such a motor effects the movements of the carriage 4 along the slidingcolumn 9 both for positioning the carriage 4 in the toasting positionand for raising the carriage to the position of extraction of thetoasted slices of bread.

Another advantage of such a motor, apart from its low cost, is the factthat it is associated with an electronic control device, not shown,which on the one hand controls the rotation of the and on the other handcontrols the operation of the heating elements 3.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cheek 20 situated between thecasing and the cheek 21 has an upper stop 46 and a lower stop 48disposed angularly with respect to the output shaft 38 of the motor. Thestops 46, 48 enable the movement of the crank 40 to be limited either ata bottom position or at a top position for which the slider 10 is in thehigh position.

Referring to the drawings, the operation of the guide device and of thelowering and raising mechanism associated with it according to theinvention will now be described.

When a start button, depicted in B in FIG. 1, is pressed, the rotor ofthe synchronous motor begins to rotate, driving the output shaft 38. Asthis synchronous motor has no non-return mechanism, the free rotor canstart in any direction. But, as the crank 40 is at the stop, for exampleat 46, the rotor will, owing to feedback, turn in the desired directionto rotate the crank 40 as far as the lower stop 48. The lug 50 borne bythe end 42 of the crank 40 moves in the runner 44 in such a directionthat it exerts on the slider 10 a vertical downward force. Under theaction of this force, the slider 10, initially in the high position,moves along the column 9 towards the toasting position, driving thecarriage, previously filled with slices of bread to be toasted. As willbe understood, by virtue of the opposing arrangement of the rollers 16and 18, the forces on the slider and notably the torque imposed by theprojecting carriage are well balanced and the slider moves withouteffort along the column 9. When the crank reaches the lower stop 48, theslider comes to act through a finger 52 (FIG. 3) on a switch 54 whichsends to an electronic control device (not shown) a signal to interruptthe supply to the motor and to activate quartz tubes 3 for a previouslyfixed period. At the end of this period, the electronic control devicetriggers the rotation of the rotor of the synchronous motor, whichautomatically starts up in the right direction by virtue of the stop 48.The movement of the lug SO in the runner 44 in the opposite direction toits previous movement exerts an upward vertical force on the slider 10.The slider 10 then moves under the action of this force, upwards alongthe column 9, thereby driving the carriage 4 towards the position ofextraction of the slices of bread until it comes to bear on the stop 46.At the same moment, the electronic control device cuts off the supply tothe motor.

By virtue of the guide device according to the invention and thelowering and raising mechanism associated with it, reliable and flexibletoaster operation and minimum congestion within the toasting enclosureare obtained. Furthermore, the ease of sliding the slider along thesliding column enables a low-power motor of relatively low cost to beused.

We claim:
 1. Electric toaster comprising:a casing defining a toastingenclosure of parallelepipedal shape overall and having on a top face aslot for the insertion of slices of bread; at least one bread-carriercarriage mounted so as to move vertically on a guide device; a loweringand raising mechanism arranged between the casing and the toastingenclosure for lowering the carriage to a low toasting position situatedat the bottom of the enclosure and for raising the carriage, after apreviously fixed toasting period has elapsed, to a high extractionposition for removal of toasted slices of bread; said guide deviceincluding a single sliding column having a slider movably mountedthereon, said carriage being attached only to the slider such that saidcarriage is cantilevered from said column; and said slider including atleast two sliding devices having a lower coefficient of friction withthe column and disposed substantially in the same vertical plane on eachside of the column.
 2. Electric toaster according to claim 1, whereinthe sliding devices comprise rollers.
 3. Electric toaster according toclaim 1, wherein the slider has an oblong cage having a vertical passagein which the column is mounted, said sliding devices being disposed inopposition at both ends of the cage and having active parts whichproject respectively in the passage so as to contact the column. 4.Electric toaster according to claim 3, wherein the bread-carriercarriage includes a strip disposed in a vertical plane, said striphaving a top edge which bears fingers, said slider comprising a lateralhousing having an angle bracket fixed therein, and said angle bracketbeing secured to one end of the strip.
 5. Electric toaster according toclaim 1, wherein the lowering and raising mechanism comprises anelectric motor unit having an output shaft which is equipped with acrank, said crank having a free end which engages with a runner formedin the slider so as to communicate to said slider a vertical movementalong the column, thereby bringing the carriage either from the highextraction position to the low toasting position for toasting slices ofbread, or from the low toasting position to the high extraction positionafter the slices of bread have been toasted.
 6. Electric toasteraccording to claim 5, wherein the electric motor unit includes asynchronous electric motor equipped with a reduction gear.
 7. Electrictoaster according to claim 6, wherein the synchronous motor has a rotorwith free starting in both directions of rotation.
 8. Electric toasteraccording to claim 5, wherein the runner is formed, in a projectionborne by the slider, by an oblong recess running transversely to thecolumn, and the free end of the crank having a pin which slides in saidrecess.
 9. Electric toaster according to claim 5, wherein the motor unitis mounted on a cheek which has a lower stop and an upper stop disposedangularly with respect to the output shaft for limiting the movement ofthe crank either at a bottom position in which the slider is in the lowtoasting position, or at a top position in which the slider is in thehigh extraction position.